Kite trudged uneven steps through the dorm's closed window. His wing was well stained in blood, notable snake bites littering his feathers. He found Carre, sitting impatiently on top of a nightstand (Joon-woo's? It was too clean to be Reggie's).
He looked up at Carre and slumped tired into a sleeping position.
"Carre, there's another one."
A long silence trudged between them, eyes locking sharply.
"Another… regressor?"
Kite nodded.
"It's the journalist. The one who exposed Joon-woo." He insisted, "I– I was investigating." His wings, bloody, shook twisted and pretzel-ed.
Carre sighed, observing Kite in his poor state, "Shit… Really? How could they mess up and assign so many regressors to one world..?" She hissed.
Kite shrugged, "I… Don't know. But the other reaper, they're a snake."
Carre chuckled, but it was clear she found nothing funny. "I could tell. You don't look too fresh right now."
Kite's beak was slightly mangled, his feathers pulled carefully enough to draw blood. A real sadist had gotten their hands on him.
"Thanks. I need to heal up before Joon-woo sees me like this…" He spoke, trying and failing to fly to a more and Joon-woo-less secluded place.
–+–
"[I can hear it callin'
The way we are,
Dancin' up our bodies]"
In windows, the groups made a small phone with their hands for a moment, dropping them to do the corresponding moves. Emily watched from a small chair in front of them, acting as a center marker.
Finding no faults yet, she smiled and gestured for the group to continue into the next verse.
"[Do you hear the music?]
Yeah, just like that–
Let's make this night a great one —"
This time those who were "partnered" for the project approached each other and did separated-esque movements as if they were closer. Joon-woo and Reggie took center.
"Do you feel the heat?
Can you feel me?"
It was then Reggie of all people had a slip up. He stumbled, and it was noticeable even when he tried to hide it. Emily grimaced and raised her hand.
"Nope!" She paused the music from her speaker and ASCEND stopped with it. "You guys have to pre-record your Tnet performance tomorrow. I want a clean performance with no mistakes."
Mi Yong groaned, lightly punching Reggie in his chest, "Why did you mess up..?" He spoke, out of breath from dancing just seconds before.
Reggie frowned, "I'm sorry…" He apologized, refusing to look back at Joon-woo.
Ryeo Hyun pulled Mi Yong away and back to his place in the starting formation, breaking a laugh out of Emily. It was like a mother dragging her kittens by the scruff.
"C'mon, don't you have at least two more runs in you?" Emily asked.
Baek Du-Ho was the first to shake his head, "Half… I have half…" He replied between exhausted gulps.
"How about one more?" Emily pleaded, "And you go to your other schedules and come back tonight for a final run through."
Jung Hyun-Ok sighed, "Yeah, whatever, I just want to eat lunch soon. Did you order salads, Yong Hyung?"
Mi Yong nodded, "All with extra chicken and cheese…"
It was as if exhaustion left their bodies, they repositioned. Reggie looking at Joon-woo's expression for a fault, and finding a grimace on Joon-woo's face like a pattern. He used to think Joon-woo was just a stickler to his diet, but dots were connecting in his head like constellations. He felt guilty. Bo Jaesang in few astute observations clocked Joon-woo's eating problems faster than any of ASCEND could. If anything, Reggie should've noticed sooner. He felt terrible, like he had let Joon-woo down.
Emily played the song from the beginning and he sighed back his worries. Just one more run through. One more.
–+–
Kite and Carre were looking at Joon-woo's mood for the right time to talk. During their dance practice, Joon-woo seemed to be on autopilot, on the way back he was sleeping. During lunch he picked around at his food, in a sleepy daze. On the car ride to their music video shoot he was sleeping again. There, Joon-woo was lugged around like water, like a doll. Make-up dotted his face and he wore a long sleeved black shirt plenty tight on his ribs. The sleeves were wide at the end, and paired with the attire of a vampire. An oversexualized vampire of course.
The set was bigger than that of their first music video's shoot, so finding Joon-woo was harder now. Not to mention he did each of his own scenes with ease. Acting as if a veteran (they knew he was) and not having to do more than one take for most of his scenes.
But there was something different about Joon-woo's excellence this time around. It felt calculated. It felt the slightest bit ingenuine. At first Carre suspected the common burnout but it wasn't that. She could see a passion in Joon-woo in the group shots. With his bandmates, whom he had found a comfort in, she suspected.
Maybe it was better to say that he seemed to be on autopilot. Like he had turned his mind off and was just trying to finish the day. She felt slightly bad having to drop heavy news on him, and it was uncharacteristic of herself, because in the past she never cared. Those she sponsored could rot in their reserved places in hell, and she would laugh. Why did this kid make her so maternal? Kite looked ready to pounce, nervously staring at Joon-woo analyzing his movements for the perfect movement. A true rookie, Carre thought.
She heard the staff mumble praises like sheep:
"He's like a real actor, shouldn't the company start getting him roles now?"
"He can't, he's still a rookie, but maybe he could do some solo advertisements."
"With Reggie? He's done them with him."
"No. His own. Reggie's too much of a rookie, they are all."
"But isn't Joon-woo the most rookie out of all of them? He's the youngest."
"But he's the best."
Carre wanted to scoff. A lot of Joon-woo's past prowess took this many months to come out? She didn't know trauma could hide talent so much. She'd never had a case quite like Joon-woo's. She'd accompanied many producers, actors, managers, and even a CEO, yet never an idol. She had heard many things about the industry through talk and rumors in the other timelines she was in, but being side by side with one was new. It was eye opening. Idols were just there in all those worlds. But having an eye in the industry made everything seem new.
Expensive camera equipment zoned in on the group as they stomped around on a half green-screen set. All in vaguely suggestive costumes, Ryeo Hyun and Reggie's the most. Ryeo Hyun wore a black shirt tight enough to seem like a too-tight crop top. His pants were deep red patterned and chains acted as if wrapping around his chest. Reggie's was similar, but less skin was shown. Even the costumes seemed less cheap this time around.
Carre sighed, feeling a little sleepy. She had spent so much brain power trying to find the right moments, but was far too tired now.
Maybe tonight they'd get a chance.
–+–
Joy read the statement released by Easy Entertainment with a scoff.
"To whom it may concern, this is Easy Entertainment. In regards to the recent issues surrounding our artist JOON, we plan to take legal action against any persons who have contributed to the malicious defamation. We would like to apologize for not doing an effective job of protecting our artists, and we pledge to do better in the future. This will include relative health checks, schedules accommodated only to our artists health, and legal action against offenders. The best, Easy Entertainment."
Many companies pledged such things with no intention of carrying them out. She could ruin a group's reputation yet they'd only take legal action when it began to affect profits. Who's to say it'll be different now?
Her co-worker, Saeri, read the statement under her breath. It stunk but Joy would never tell.
"Did a lousy statement really kill the hate train?" She asked
Joy nodded, "It did, somehow. Only the parents of fans really care about their kid's idols grades, I guess." She shrugged, "I have more dirt on the group, though."
Saeri's face lit up, "More?"
Joy slightly smiled, "Yup, more. Did you know Reggie Lee is the son of Lee Ju Kae?"
Saeri gasped, looking around to make sure no one else heard, "The son? But he's American!"
Joy smiled, "That's where she sent him to keep him safe. She lives in this neighborhood here." On her computer, she changed tabs to a Maps location.
Saeri's eyes grew cruel and she laughed, "So that's where that whore was hiding all these years?"
Joy nodded, "Reggie only came to Korea two years ago for a short trainee life."
Saeri was beyond impressed, "You have so much on ASCEND… Are they really that controversial?"
"More than you'd think."
She looked at her feet to spot the snake wrapping around her chair in a pace. Notable bird blood tainted on the snake's teeth and scattered around the snake's face.